Learning And Network Plasticity In A Primitive Sensory Cortex
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$461,557.00
Summary
Our brain is a uniquely powerful supercomputer, in part because it is ‘plastic’ -- that is, it can change itself when we adapt or learn something new. An understanding of the causes of brain plasticity is an essential part of any quest to understand the brain in sickness and in health. This research uses a laser microscope to ‘read the minds’ of mice as they learn about odours. By observing plasticity in action, we will gain deeper insights into normal brain function.
The research outlined in this application seeks to examine the role of calcium in the pathogenesis of AD. It will examine the hypothesis that the build-up of a protein known as the Abeta causes an increase in levels of calcium in nerve cells of the brain. This increase in calcium may trigger nerve cell damage and dementia. The ultimate aim of the research is to identify new targets for drug development in Alzheimer's disease.
Altered HCN Channel Expression And Function In Acquired Epilepsy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$279,912.00
Summary
About 100 000 people currently suffer from epilepsy in Australia and of these about one third are poorly controlled with current anti-epileptic drugs. It is therefore important to continue to develop novel modes of treatment for this debilitating disease. This projects investigates an ion channel, known as the HCN channel, that is thought to be involved in making a brain epileptic. We explore how changes in this channel can make a brain more excitable. Also, our group is the first in the world t ....About 100 000 people currently suffer from epilepsy in Australia and of these about one third are poorly controlled with current anti-epileptic drugs. It is therefore important to continue to develop novel modes of treatment for this debilitating disease. This projects investigates an ion channel, known as the HCN channel, that is thought to be involved in making a brain epileptic. We explore how changes in this channel can make a brain more excitable. Also, our group is the first in the world to discover a mutation in this channel that is linked to epilepsy. We will also investigate how this mutation changes the channel properties to make a brain more likely to be epileptic. The HCN channel is an important target for developing anti-epileptic drugs. Understanding how changes in HCN channels make nerve cells and therefore nerve cell networks more excitable will help us develop better strategies for designing anti-epileptic drugs.Read moreRead less
Deciphering The Mechanisms Underlying LRP-mediated Axon Guidance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$370,659.00
Summary
Nerve damage can develop post injury or disease and are often very debilitating, slow to heal and cause increased pain. Our work aims to examine a new class of molecules that we show can activate selected fat-receptors on nerve cells to guide the growth of regenerating nerves. We will determine how these receptors function with the aim of developing a novel class of therapeutics directed at healing nerve damage.
The Role Of Store-operated Calcium Entry In Neuronal Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$353,140.00
Summary
Defects in brain development can manifest in a range of disorders including autism and mental retardation. The highly complex, precise network that is our nervous system forms during development. Our work will determine the role of key proteins in guiding developing neurons. Understanding the function of such proteins will improve our ability to predict the outcome caused by mutations in these proteins, in the developing foetus.
Targeting Early Cellular Damage During Secondary Degeneration Using Nanosphere-based Drug Delivery
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$424,407.00
Summary
After brain injury, there are no treatments to stop the spread of damage to intact tissue, a process involving different cell types and biochemical events. Clinical trials have targeted one event and have failed because large therapeutic doses are toxic and because combined treatments are needed to target different events. We will harness nanotechnology to target delivery of small, sustained doses of one or more drugs to specific cell types and biochemical events to stop the spread of damage.
Glutamate is one of the major neurotransmitters in the brain. It plays a very important role in most brain functions such as the ability to learn and the development of memory, but the lack of control of glutamate concentrations in the brain also underlies many pathological changes that cause neurological disorders such Alzheimer's disease, disability following a stroke, motor neurone disease and Parkinson's disease. These diseases place an enormous social and economic burden on society and in o ....Glutamate is one of the major neurotransmitters in the brain. It plays a very important role in most brain functions such as the ability to learn and the development of memory, but the lack of control of glutamate concentrations in the brain also underlies many pathological changes that cause neurological disorders such Alzheimer's disease, disability following a stroke, motor neurone disease and Parkinson's disease. These diseases place an enormous social and economic burden on society and in order to better understand and treat these diseases it is important to understand some of the fundamental biochemical processes that underlie both normal and pathogical functions of the key neurotransmitter glutamate. This project will investigate how the concentrations of glutamate are tightly regulated to maintain normal brain function and also to avoid the potentially pathological consequences when these control mechanisms fail.Read moreRead less
Mechanism Of Signal Transduction And Receptor Activation In Ligand Gated Ion Channel Receptors
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$551,560.00
Summary
This project seeks to provide fundamental new information about the means by which neurotransmitter receptors, which mediate fast synaptic neurotransmission, operate. This knowledge is important since the Cys-loop family of ligand gated ion channel receptors are responsible for a wide range of neuronal signalling and the control of both excitatory and inhibitory receptors. The Cys-loop receptors are modulated by both therapeutic drugs (eg. benzodiazepines, barbiturates, antiemetics) and by recre ....This project seeks to provide fundamental new information about the means by which neurotransmitter receptors, which mediate fast synaptic neurotransmission, operate. This knowledge is important since the Cys-loop family of ligand gated ion channel receptors are responsible for a wide range of neuronal signalling and the control of both excitatory and inhibitory receptors. The Cys-loop receptors are modulated by both therapeutic drugs (eg. benzodiazepines, barbiturates, antiemetics) and by recreational drugs (eg. alcohol, nicotine). They are also targets for development of new therapeutic drugs, such as allosteric modulators of nAChR for memory enhancement, or modulating GlyR to relieve spasticity or chronic pain. The project will use a range of molecular advances made by this and other laboratories to clarify how neurotransmitters enable their receptors to activate and signal. This fundamental information is of major medical significance as defective synaptic transmission, caused by mutations in ligand gated ion channel receptors, gives rise to a number of neurological and psychiatric disease states. The ligand gated receptors are also major targets for therapeutic drugs and the information gained in this study may also provide insights into new ways in which drugs could be used to enhance or inhibit synaptic signalling.Read moreRead less